Page 14 of Ball Buster

“Pleasure to meet you, sweetheart. Les and I were what you might call special friends.”

“Sorry for your loss.”

“Just give me a call when I can pick up my final check.”

“Be Thursday,” I tell her. “Won’t be in Wednesday morning. Vada and I have that meeting with the lawyer for the reading of the Will.”

Wanda Jean smiles funnily at me like she knows something I don’t which could easily be true. If anyone would know what’s in his Will it’d be her. “I’ll see you Thursday.”

“By, Wanda,” Dutch mutters and she glares at him on a long beat then leaves. “Think she’s really moving or did my comment upset her so much she quit?” Guilt seeps from his words. It was an honest statement but not one she needed to hear.

“Don’t worry about it, man. She’s talked about the possibility of Jon getting transferred a few times.”

He nods. “Got three cases for you.”

“Take’m to the store room.” I toss him the keys. Gotta keep the door locked. One of our regulars got drunk and helped himself to the storage room once and an expensive bottle of bourbon.

Dutch catches the keys and winks at Vada. Fucker. Darlene will rip him a new asshole she catches him. Those two are back on again after being off for a while. Brother needs to man up and make an ol’ lady out of her. No one else is going to put up with him.

“Do we sell ice cream?”

“Nope.”

“Then what’s with the truck?”

“Club business.”

“Club business? Looks like it’s bar business being as he’s bringing cases of something into our business.”

“Listen. I don’t know what Les was thinking leaving his half of the bar to you knowing that this is a biker bar, and you don’t know how things work around here. That said, you’ve saw that I belong to a club. And club business is club business. I’ll inform you what that business is when you need to know and I’m telling you right now that this is not your gig. It’s mine. So don’t ask questions and do what I tell you.”

“You’re not my father.”

“Thank fuck I’m not because I’d already tanned your ass for the way you love to run that sassy mouth at me.”

Her cheeks flame red at my comment. “You better not be doing something illegal that will get us both into trouble.”

“It’s under control.”

“How’s that?”

“I’ll explain later.” I shut her down as Dutch comes through with his dollie with cases of moonshine stacked on it. I don’t have it in me to argue with her right now.

Dutch completes his order and a couple of regulars who were fishing buddies of Les come in. Dutch is moping around the pool tables no doubt being nosy and checking Vada out.

I’m working the bar and Vada is perched on a stool at the end still making lists in her notebook.

She glances my way chewing on the end of her pen.

“Can I ask you something?”

“If I say no, are you going to ask anyway?”

“Yup.”

“Then why ask if you can ask and just not lead with the question?”

“What’s with the stripper pole? Are we a gentleman’s club? Is the stage for live music? Comedians? Like what’s the gig?”

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